4 Tips to Make Your Emails Easy to Read

Coming up with good content is only half the story when you are trying to create an email that generates awareness, engagement and support. You also need to make sure that your email is designed to be impactful and easy-to-read. 

Here’s a handful of tips on how you can accomplish this in your next communication.

1. Remember 50% of your emails are read on mobile devices. I bet you already know this, but here's the rub: you probably don't design your emails on a phone. You do it on a nice laptop or desktop where the screen is pretty big. Imagine a beautiful graphic that looks super on your laptop when it's shrunk down to about two inches across. Will it still look great?
   
   Fortunately, most email platforms include the ability to preview how your ecomm will look on a variety of devices, including mobile and tablet. Take advantage of it and simplify any graphics that just don't work on the average phone.  
   
   
2. Keep it short, keep it simple & keep the important stuff up top. You don't want folks to have to scroll endlessly to get to the point. Decide the one essential thing you want people to take away from your email - and then make sure you get to it quickly.
   
   
3. Bolds, bullets & headers are your friends. Think about the last time you read an email from a nonprofit you support. Did you dutifully start from word one and read through every single line? Or did you kind of scroll and scan, stopping when something caught your interest?
   
   Most people tend to skim e-communications, so give them something for their eyes to grab. Bolded words, bulleted (or numbered) lists and headers will help emphasize your key points.
   
   
4. Give your readers multiple chances to answer your CTA. Typically your emails will contain within them a action (even if it's just to "learn more.") Make it easy for your audience to engage by offering them several CTAs in different formats. 
   
   In addition to that button at the end of your email, you can add a link in your text (preferably in another color or ALL CAPS so it stands out from the rest of the text). You can also include CTA links in your images, if appropriate.

Your nonprofit has important information to get out to your subscribers. Make sure that message isn't undermined by cluttered content or a complex design that doesn’t translate well to a mobile device.